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British Drama

Notes funny enough, contain hints that suggest the impending doom lurking around to them. Meg’s
situation as a childless old woman who talks through repetitions may seem funny and odd, but
those cover up her unconscious desire to have son, a desire she tries to fulfil through the mothering
of Stanley and Petey. But Above all, Stanley’s staying in a sea-side lodge, his shabby appearance
combined with inconsistent words and memorising may seem strange and invoke mild laughter
but in reality he is facing a crisis which he is himself not completely aware of.
Pinter creates an atmosphere of menace through a variety of dramatic elements and techniques.
First of all, he lets situations fall from a light-hearted situation unexpectedly down to one which is
highly serious. For instance, while talking to Meg among other things, he tells her about a wheel-
barrow which will come to the house for some body. Here we get a suggestion of impending death
through the sudden reference to coffin. Again, we see Meg offering Staley the gift of a drum as a
compliment to his supposed musical talent. But Stanley begins to beat it with such savagery that the
audience is left dumb-struck as to the real intention behind this. This kind of abrupt explosion of
violence is once again seen when Stanley kicks at McCann. But more importantly, menace is presented
through the fears the characters feel but cannot spot. First of all, fear of weather is introduced: the
characters repeatedly enquire about weather, and this becomes tangible once the audience
understands that the lodge is situated on the coast of a sea. Then Stanley tries to frighten Meg by
prophesying the arrival of wheel-barrow which, of course, does not come for her. On the other
hand, on hearing the visit of two strangers, Stanley feels a complex fear—first of all, the fear of
being driven away from the lodge which has become for him as comfortable as his mother’s womb.
A house represents security and comforts from the hazards of the outside world but sadly it is
impossible to sustain. Goldberg and McCann is the embodiment of menace from a hostile outside
world. We also note that he stays in a lodge, which cannot be a substitute for home. Secondly,
Stanley faces the fear of being persecuted by the intruders. That is why he expresses his desire to
run away with Lulu, but is afraid of doing so in reality.

How does Pinter create an atmosphere of menace in the play Birthday Party.

With the hosting of the birthday party, the play reaches its climax of menace. A birthday party is
expected to be a ritualistic celebration of one’s life, but in the case of Stanley it turns out to be the
greatest ordeal of life leading to his complete mental derangement. The audience now understands
the menace turning real though in transformed forms. Stanley faces not only physical assault but
also a torrent of words, with the serious accusations like He’s killed his wife mingled with trivial
and ludicrous like Why do you pick your nose? The persons who could have saved him are either
absent or drunk.
The play ends with Stanley’s forced removal from the house by Goldberg and McCann who leave a
further note of unknown menace awaiting Stanley in near future. This uncertain menace is further
strengthened by Petey’s inability to communicate to Meg what has exactly happened with Stanley.
To conclude, it can be said that the final impression of the play on the audience echoes Pinter’s own
words: In our present-day world, everything is uncertain, there is no fixed point, we are surrounded
by the unknown... There is a kind of horror about and I think that this horror and absurdity (comedy)
go together.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
7. Pinter creates an atmosphere of menace through a variety of
(a) dramatic elements and techniques (b) admiration and power struggle
(c) ritualistic celebration (d) disjointed information.

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